John part 5-Are You Satisfied?

Key Verse of the Week: John 4:13-14 (ESV) Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Our culture is obsessed with self-satisfaction.  Feeling the emptiness of life without Christ, many turn to sex, beauty, food, academic accomplishment, wealth, power, or fame to feel complete.  Those things cannot satisfy because we are not able to feel satisfied by idolatry.  Idolatry is seeking anything besides God, hoping it will satisfy and bring peace.  I’ve heard it said that sin always overpromises and underdelievers.  This can be said for the craving inside to feel peace and significance.  Think carefully, has it ever worked?  Has the result of chasing after temporary things ever brought about meaning in your life?  Or does it quickly crumble and put you back chasing something you will never grasp? Like the woman at the well, and the man with an ill son, take your need to Jesus and He will give you what you can never find on your own: peace and meaning. 

Read John 4:1-44

·         Which verses in this chapter describe why Jesus shouldn’t be talking to this woman?

·         Which two physical things in this section does Jesus use to show us how we can be satisfied spiritually?

·         What is the woman’s response to how Jesus tells her “all she ever did?” (v.29)? What things was she running too before hearing the truth about her life that didn’t satisfy? How did this insight affect her community?

·         What do you think the harvest in verses 35-38 is symbolic for?

Read John 4:46-53

·         Describe the miracle Jesus does in this section.  Why does He do it (review verse 48)?  How does this relate to the purpose of the book in John 20:30-31?

·         Read Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10.  What similarities do the two accounts of that healing have with the circumstances in this miracle?

·         Reread verse 54.  What was the first sign that this verse refers to? Think about what we have studied in past weeks.  Hadn’t He been doing other signs (John 2:23).  Why would this be the second? Read John 3:46 carefully as you decide your answer.

Journal Prompt:

Like the woman at the well, we often turn to other things to satisfy us.  Reflect on a time you have turned to something other than God for comfort.  What happened as a result?  Did your circumstances and emptiness grow?  Now consider a time you have turned to God in your pain instead. What do verses 13-14 really mean to you?  If you have never trusted in God, what is stopping you?  After reflection, pray to Him and ask for courage to trust Him if you’ve never seen Him work or spend time in worship for His ability to take your pain and heal you by the living water He has given you.